THEN AND NOW

Sunday

Dec 2, 2012 at 12:15 AMDec 2, 2012 at 12:18 AM

Chelsea Gray and Afure Jemerigbe have been through a lot together.

Stephen Roberson

Chelsea Gray and Afure Jemerigbe have been through a lot together.

They started as teammates in elementary school. That partnership extended to St. Mary's High School, where they bypassed a potentially petty rivalry, instead combining to form one of the best one-two punches in girls high school basketball history.

The best friends led the Rams to back-to-back CIF State Division III championships in 2009 and 2010. Both earned McDonald's All-American honors. Both earned multiple Record Player of the Year awards, Gray thrice and Jemerigbe twice - they were co-winners as seniors in 2010. Both were given full-ride scholarships to major Division I collegiate programs, Gray by Duke, Jemerigbe by Cal. And both have led their programs into the current Associated Press top 10.

They've done almost everything together.

Today, they'll do something new.

For the first time, one will leave a gym - if you can call Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium a gym - happy, the other disappointed when No. 10 Cal visits the No. 4 Blue Devils (5-0) at 11 a.m.

"We've never played against each other, and we've been playing together since we were 11 or 12 years old," Gray said. "I'm very excited. I just talked to her and I know she's happy and excited."

The junior point guard has been a hit since landing in Durham. Already called one of the greatest clutch players in the program's history in this year's Blue Devils media guide, she was an All-American and All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection last year as a sophomore and an All-ACC Rookie as a freshman.

Through five games this year, the Manteca native leads Duke in scoring (16.4 points per game), steals (3.6), assists (7.0) and free-throw percentage (.944).

While she's always contributed, Jemerigbe's process took a little longer. She started 14 of 33 games last year as a sophomore, averaging five points per game, but she's now established herself as an everyday starting shooting guard averaging 10.2 points, and she leads the team in both 3-pointers (10) and 3-point percentage (.455).

"I've been waiting for this game for a long time," Jemerigbe said. "I knew this game was on the schedule at the beginning of my sophomore year, so that's added to the anticipation. We're playing again next year at our house, so that will be awesome."

Gray, a sociology major, said the 2,800 miles between the two hasn't changed their friendship.

"We spent time with each over this summer," said Gray, who visited with Jemerigbe on Saturday. "We worked out a little together, played a few games together. I spent time at her house; she spent time at my house. That's my best friend right there."

St. Mary's coach Tom Gonsalves said he's never seen anything like it, two of his former players meeting, head-to-head, both leading teams among the best in the country.

"It's pretty impressive," he said. "I'm just really proud of them. It's overwhelming. They deserve it. They've worked hard. They were so much fun to coach. They exemplify what our program is about."

Jemerigbe said she'd love for Saturday's game to be the first of two between the teams this year; she admitted both have discussed how special it would be to meet in the Final Four.

"We've thought about it, of course," she said. "We're all trying to get there. Duke is a really high-ranked all-around team.

"We're trying to get there, too. Everyone on this team definitely believes we can get there. We're ready. That's our motto this year."